Director Bill Condon's compassionate speculation about the final days of Frankenstein director James Whale was one of the most critically acclaimed films of 1998, earning Condon an Academy Award for his screenplay and Oscar nominations for Ian McKellen and Lynn Redgrave. A quarter century after his Hollywood heydey, Whale (McKellen) lives a reclusive life, accompanied only by images from his past and his longtime housekeeper Hannah (Redgrave), who serves as his protector, mother, and surrogate wife. When Hannah hires a handsome young gardener, Clayton Boone (Brendan Fraser), the flamboyant director and simple laborer develop an unlikely friendship that alters their lives forever.